Change our attitudes to attract more young people

Getting young people to consider a career in automotive has been a perennial challenge for as long as I have been in the industry.

We know that most young people already have fixed ideas about their future direction as young as 11 years of age. Those ideas might not be permanent at that stage, but this clearly points to the fact that their interest needs to be piqued much earlier if we want to have a chance of attracting them into automotive.

The very nature of the business, which is invariably focused on the short term, means that we can suffer from a reactive approach to filling vacancies. Those that plan longer term still rarely look far enough down the road to engage meaningfully with children as young as 11, never mind younger.

Then, of course, there’s the question of how to get young people excited about a career in automotive. We all know that our industry is undergoing unprecedented change, and the skills we need to acquire for the future will in most cases be very different to those we’ve needed in the past. So the message should be about inspirational careers and working in a truly high-tech, cutting-edge industry.

Further research tells us that Generation Z and beyond place significant importance on values and outcomes. So they want to know that any business they work for has properly thought about its contribution to society, including its environmental impacts. They also look for businesses to be truly equitable and inclusive. Those that are genuinely unable to tick those boxes will unquestionably struggle to attract young talent.

We’re currently living in a world where talent is in very short supply, with every sector of the economy recording record vacancy levels. This is likely to be the case for the foreseeable future, as Baby Boomers – the largest part of the working population – progressively retire to be replaced by smaller successive generations. Our entire approach to attracting young talent therefore needs to change accordingly.

To paraphrase a well-known saying: Ask not what young people can do for you but what you can do for them.

If there’s a question you’d like us to answer, email MotorPro Editor James Scoltock

This is an edited extract from IMI's new MotorPro magazine, received free as part of IMI membership.